Guard rail fence



Sept. 21, 1965 H. sT. PIERRE 3,207,478

GUARD RAIL FENCE Filed Feb. 19, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet -1 INVENTOR HENRY $1: PIERRE BY E ATTORNEY E Sept. 21, 1965 s1. PIERRE 3,207,473

GUARD RAIL FENCE Filed Feb. 19, 1963 Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HENRY ST. PIERRE ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,207,478 GUARD RAIL FENCE Henry St. Pierre, 50 Frank St., Worcester, Mass. Filed Feb. 19, 1963, Ser. No. 259,683 3 Claims. (Cl. 25613.1)

This invention relates to new and improved guard rail fences and particularly of a kind which employs a socalled W plate or iron. The W plate or iron is of itself well known in the art but the present invention provides for a great improvement over the prior art W type of iron guard rail by providing means whereby the same can be expansible or distensible when hit by a vehicle, thus taking up the shock better with less damage to the vehicle and the occupants thereof.

Further objects of the invention include the provision of a guard rail as above described in combination with chain guard rail means.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a W iron guard rail fence in which the individual plates or irons are mounted at their centers or posts, and including means connecting the contiguous ends of the W plates or irons between posts, said means allowing the plates or irons to spring backwards and away from each other while still maintaining the same connected, this construction absorbing great amounts of shock.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a new and improved pivoting pole on which the W iron may be mounted.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a view in front elevation illustrating the invention, parts being broken away;

FIG. 2 is a greatly enlarged section on line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view in front elevation illustrating the W section embodying the present invention;

FIG 4 is an enlarged section on line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the same from the rear thereof;

FIG. 6 is a plan view partly in section illustrating a modified post;

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate modified means of securing the W irons to the posts, and

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the manner in which the posts swing under the influence of a vehicle striking the new guard rail.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a pipe or other upright support 10. This post is adapted to be set upright in the ground and means such as spikes, fins or the like 12 can be utilized underground to help prevent twisting or swinging of this post on a vertical axis. The post is bent or turned outwardly at the upper end thereof as at 14 and has a bracket 16 mounted at its end upon which is mounted an upright post 18. The main characteristic of post 18 is that the lower end 20 thereof is spaced well above the ground line 21.

The W plate or iron section is shown in FIG. 2 and this iron is represented in general by the reference numeral 22. It will be seen that this plate or iron is elongated. It has a central fiat longitudinal area 24 and a pair of spaced triangular outstanding parallel ridge areas 26, 26, these also being longitudinal as shown in FIG. 1. In the flat area 24 which is centrally located laterally transversely of the W iron, it may be secured longitudinally centrally thereof as by a bolt 28 to the post 18 preferably adjacent the lower edge 20 of the post.

These W irons are ordinarily mounted on posts ten feet apart and having overlapping ends so as to form a continuous guard rail. They may be used in a single con- 3,207,478 Patented Sept. 21, 1965 tinuous length or they may be used in vertically spaced pairs and the same is true of the present invention. However, an upper chain indicated at 30 may be used is desired.

The W irons of the present invention are each secured adjacent the center portions thereof by any kind of fastening means such as the bolts 28, screws or the like centrally thereof to each post 18 (-see FIG. 1). Each section, normally ten feet, of each W plate terminates in abutting relationship to the next adjacent one midway between posts as is indicated by the reference numeral 32. In FIG. 3 these ends are shown as spaced apart but in FIGS. 1 and 5 they are shown as close together.

Overlapping the ends at 32 is a rear plate generally indicated by the reference numeral 34 This plate is made like the W plate, having the same conformation (see FIG. 4). However, it is shorter, being anywhere from a foot long up to any length desired or convenient, and the same is provided with a series of bolts the heads of which are shown in FIG. 3 at 36. These bolts extend through corresponding slots 38 in the adjacent ends of the W plates 22 and as shown in FIG. 4 a lock washer 40 is utilized under nut 41 on each bolt in order to enable a desired degree of friction to be set up between plate 34 on the one hand and the two ends of the plates 22 on the other hand. The bolts themselves are indicated by the reference numeral 42.

The effect of this structure is that when the guard rail is struck and deflected by a vehicle, the ends 32 are forced apart as in FIG. 3 but they are still held together and connected by reason of the bolts 42 rising in slots 38 to the ends thereof if this should become necessary due to the onslaught of the vehicle. This clearly acts as a shockabsorber, stopping the vehicle relatively gently as compared with a non-expansible guard rail. If further shock is applied, the posts themselves will start to swivel on vertical axes as is indicated in FIG. 9 and this again acts as a shock-absorber in addition to the shock-absorbing effect of the connected W plates as above explained.

In addition looking at the diagram in FIG. 9, the post which is indicated by the reference numeral 46 has swung farther than that indicated at 48, the pressure being to the right of post 46, and in the area between them at 50 the ends 32 of the next adjacent W plate will also start to be dragged apart, so that it is seen there is a multiplicity of shock-absorbing means to absorb the shock of the accident against the W plate. The area 52 has started to expand, but since post 54 has not been yet affected, the area at 56 is still closed.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, many different fastening means can be provided for securing the W plate 22 to either a wooden post, see bolt 28, or if a pipe is used, a short bolt 58 can be used, or on the other hand a long bolt 60 like that at 28 can also be utilized, together with various lock washers, etc.

In FIG. 6 there is shown a post 62 which can take the place of the wooden post, this being a rolled-over sheet of metal with overlapping ends at 64, a fastener 66 going through the overlapping ends into the bracket 68 on the end of the pipe end 14. Otherwise the construction is the same but here is shown the fastener type 58 securing the W plate 22 to the post.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but What I claim is:

1. A guard rail construction comprising a series of upright posts, a guard rail plate for each post, means securing each guard rail plate in generally horizontal position intermediate the ends of each said plate to each post, the ends of the individual guard rail plates terminating in edges that are coincident with the corresponding end edges of the next adjacent plates forming a substantially continuous guard rail in which the plates substantially abut at their end edges, and a plate connecting the adjacent end portions of said guard rail plates, said connecting plate being movable with respect to the end portions of the guard rail plates which it connects," whereby thrust in a generally horizontal direction normal to the plates will cause the ends of the guard rail plates to tend to separate and the latter to be warped in the direction of the thrust, said connecting plate maintaining connection between said ends of said plates, said connecting plate being relatively short, and interengaging means between said connecting plate and each of the contiguous end portions of adjacent guard rail plates mounted on the posts, said interengaging means comprising slots and headed fasteners, the fasteners extending through said slots, and there being a separate, mutually spaced slot-and-fastener connection between each guard rail plate and the connecting plate.

2. The guard rail construction of claim 1 wherein each post comprises an upright member having an end disposable in the ground and its exposed end extending at a general right angle with respect thereto, a relatively short guard rail supporting member secured to each said exposed end in vertical position oifset from the upright 4 member, the guard rail plates being mounted on the relatively short guard rail supporting members whereby the thrust acts on the short members and Will not only tend to separate the ends of the guard rail plates but also to swing the posts in an are.

3. The guard rail construction recited in claim 1 wherein each post includes at its upper end a substantially vertical offset upright member upon which the guard rail plates are directly mounted, and the posts being swingable so that the said vertical members move in the direction toward each other under conditions of shock imposed upon the guard rail plates intermediate a pair of posts.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,826,998 10/31 Doddridge 256--13.l 2,123,167 7/38 Cain 256-131 2,311,221 2/43 Ferguson 2561'3.1 2,339,515 1/44 Parcher 18934 3,077,339 2/63 White 25613.1

HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner.

BENJAMIN BENDETT, Examiner. 

1. A GUARD RAIL CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING A SERIES OF UPRIGHT POSTS, A GUARD RAIL PLATE FOR EACH POST, MEANS SECURING EACH GUARD RAIL PLATE IN GENERALLY HORIZONTAL POSITION INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS OF EACH SAID PLATE TO EACH POST, THE ENDS OF THE INDIVIDUAL GUARD RAIL PLATES TERMINATING IN EDGES THAT ARE COINCIDENT WITH THE CORRESPONDING END EDGES OF THE NEXT ADJACENT PLATES FORMING A SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUS GUARD RAIL IN WHICH THE PLATES SUBSTANTIALLY ABUT AT THEIR END EDGES, AND A PLATE CONNECTING THE ADJACENT END PORTINS OF SAID GUARD RAIL PLATES, SAID CONNECTING PLATE BEING MOVABLE WITH RESPECT TO THE END PORTION OF THE GUARD RAIL PLATES WHICH IT CONNECTS, WHEREBY THRUST IN A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL DIRECTION NORMAL TO THE PLATES WILL CAUSE THE ENDS OF THE GUARD RAIL PLATES TO TEND TO SEPARATE AND THE LATTER TO BE WARPED IN THE DIRECTIN OF THE THRUST, SAID CONNECTING PLATE MAINTAINING CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID ENDS OF SAID PLATES, SAID CONNECTING PLATE BEING RELATIVELY SHORT, AND INTERENGAGING MEANS BETWEEN SAID CONNECTING PLATE AND EACH OF THE CONTIGUOUS END PORTIONS OF ADJACENT GUARD RAIL PLATES MOUNTED ON THE POSTS, SAID INTERENGAGING MEANS COMPRISING SLOTS AND HEADED FASTENERS, THE FASTENERS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID SLOTS, AND THERE BEING A SEPARATE, MUTUALLY SPACED SLOT-AND-FASTENER CONNECTION BETWEEN EACH GUARD RAIL PLATE AND THE CONNECTING PLATE. 